Calls for Health and Safety Protections to be Maintained Post-Brexit

New figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have revealed that 263 injuries were reported for every 100,000 workers in Britain in 2016/17.

Across the country as a whole, the highest rate of workplace injuries was apparently to be found in North Warwickshire, with 1,060 injuries for every 100,000 workers reported to the HSE. This is more than four times the national average.

According to the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), this high rate of injury could be result of various different factors, including the prevalence of high-risk industries in the area.

APIL has noted the national long-term downward trend in the rate of both injuries and deaths in workplaces across Britain, with workplace deaths falling by 85% since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act in 1974.

However, APIL has also stressed how important it is that safeguards which protect workers are not unravelled by the Brexit process

“Health and safety legislation and subsequent case law have been huge players in making our workplaces safer, and much of that has its roots in Europe,” commented Brett Dixon, president of APIL.

“The Government has the power to pick out what is needed and dispense with what is not when EU laws are converted into UK laws under the Repeal Bill,” he said. “This process needs the most vigorous parliamentary scrutiny so that the laws which protect workers are not unravelled. It is literally a matter of life or death.”

“Let’s hope that next year we’re looking at figures which show a reduction in workplace injury in North Warwickshire, and that everyone who goes out to work returns home,” he added.